Brutalist Southbank Centre finally listed after 35 years of refusals

Yesterday, Historic England confirmed to the AJ that, on its advice, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) had Grade II listed the centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room, Hayward Gallery and terraced walkways and stairs.

The Twentieth Century Society, which launched a bid early last year to secure the long-demanded heritage protection for the centre, hailed the decision as a ‘victory over those who derided so-called “concrete monstrosities”.’

The campaign group described the reinforced concrete complex as a  ‘post-war architectural masterpiece’.

The riverside arts centre was designed by the London County Council Special Works Group, which included Warren Chalk and Ron Herron of Archigram. When it opened in 1967, Daily Mail readers voted it ‘Britain’s ugliest building’.

It was the only post-war building on London’s South Bank to remain unlisted, refused protection on six separate occasions by successive culture secretaries, who since 1991 had repeatedly rejected Historic England’s (formerly English Heritage) recommendations.

Explaining its reasons for refusal in 2018, the DCMS said: ‘The building’s architecture is not unique or groundbreaking and is poorly resolved in terms of its relationship to the site, its coherence, and its accessibility in comparison to the Royal Festival Hall and the National Theatre.’

Southbank Centre as refurbished by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios working with Archer Humphryes Architects. Photo: Hufton + Crow

Following that refusal, architectural historian Otto Saumarez-Smith tweeted then-culture secretary, Matt Hancock, to complain that his decision was ‘absurd and disgraceful’. The Victorian Society echoed the sentiment, accusing the government of threatening the integrity of the listing system with its ‘absurd’ decision.

Hopes had not been high that the result would be different this time.

But almost 12 months after the latest Southbank listing bid was submitted, heritage minister, Fiona Twycross accepted Historic England’s reasons for listing designation (see full list of reasons below).

The heritage body had argued that the centre merited protection due, in part, to its ‘bold geometric formations, clustered to sculptural effect with a correspondingly dramatic silhouette’. The government’s heritage watchdog also praised the ‘use of exposed concrete in which the building’s monumental scale is countered by the fine texture and tactility of its surface finishes, executed with exemplary technical skill’.

The Twentieth Century Society’s latest listing bid had been triggered by the expiration, last February, of a certificate of immunity from listing the centre, issued by the DCMS in February 2020.

‘The lack of listing had become a complete anomaly’

Responding to the DCMS’s decision, Twentieth Century Society director Catherine Croft said: ‘The battle has been won, and Brutalism has finally come of age. This is a victory over those who derided so-called “concrete monstrosities” and shows a mature recognition of a style where Britain led the way.

‘We’re absolutely thrilled that this internationally recognised concrete masterpiece of post-war architecture has finally been accepted as part of our national heritage, some 35 years after the Twentieth Century Society first campaigned for the Southbank Centre to be protected.’

She added: ‘The lack of listing had become a complete anomaly. It is admired as one of the best Brutalist buildings in the world, so this decision is obviously very well deserved and long overdue.

‘The arts complex is a highly sophisticated, sculptural masterpiece, with enormous richness of form and detail inside and out. The experience it gives concert goers and gallery visitors is unlike any other venue in the country, its virtuoso spaces still unrivalled.’

Croft concluded: ‘Credit must go to the heritage minister, Baroness Twycross, who has done the right thing, where her predecessors over the past few decades have failed to act, and to Historic England who along with the Twentieth Century Society, have consistently made the case for its place on the national register.’

The Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and Hayward Gallery all reopened in 2018 following a two-year refurbishment led by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios.

In October, AJ analysis of the overall listing process revealed that, over the past five years, ministers had rejected Historic England’s listing advice 10 times. Of these rejections, eight had taken place in the previous year under Labour.

View drawings and images of the Hayward Gallery in the AJ Buildings Library

Southbank Centre following its refurbishment by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios. Photo: Hufton + Crow/Archer Humphryes

Historic England’s reasons for listing designation

Architectural interest

• As a creative response to a challenging site; contrasting with the bulk of the Royal Festival Hall, the building’s functions are articulated in bold geometric formations, clustered to sculptural effect with a correspondingly dramatic silhouette;
• For its use of exposed concrete in which the building’s monumental scale is countered by the fine texture and tactility of its surface finishes, executed with exemplary technical skill;
• For the spatial interest, sophisticated juxtaposition of materials, and high quality finishes of the principal interior spaces, including the concert halls and foyer, and galleries, stairs and ramped circulation through the Hayward Gallery;
• As a major public building representing one of the most complete and memorable realisations of Brutalism in England.

Historic interest

• As a nationally significant arts complex by the London County Council Architect’s Department, an institution responsible for a large and distinguished body of public architecture in post-war England;
• The Hayward Gallery was the first major building project undertaken in conjunction with the Arts Council. It is a key example of a purpose-built gallery for temporary and touring exhibitions, and one of the first in England to experiment with modern styling and planning;
• The Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room are important as acoustically successful, purpose-built post-war concert halls, designed to host the performance of music by smaller ensembles in a sympathetic, aesthetically modern environment.

Group value

• With the Royal Festival Hall (Grade I) and the National Theatre (Grade II*), which altogether form an important, prestigious post-war arts complex on the South Bank of the Thames.

Hayward Gallery within the Southbank Centre. Photo: Shutterstock